The invention concerns a method for controlling an arrangement to distribute articles to be sorted to physical target locations and a suitable control device for carrying out this method. In a known arrangement, there are provided a number of receiving elements each for respectively receiving one article to be transported along a conveying path past the physical target locations. At least one feeder is used to deliver the articles to be sorted to the receiving elements. An information set corresponding to one address is provided on each article to be sorted. The information set is detected and each receiving element is selectively controlled to release the articles to one of the physical target locations in dependence on the detected information set while the receiving element is transported past the physical locations. The invention also concerns.
Arrangements to distribute articles to be sorted to physical target locations are used, for example, in post offices for sorting of letters according to delivery regions or receiving locations. The control of these arrangements traditionally depends on permanently assigning one of the physical target locations to each of the delivery regions or receiving locations according to which the articles are sorted. Consequently, the letters representing the articles to be sorted accumulate during the sorting operation at the physical target locations assigned to the delivery regions or receiving locations. As a result of this, all the letters sorted according to delivery regions or receiving locations are sorted and present at these physical target locations, from which they can be removed for further processing.
However, in most cases of use, the flow-rate, meaning the number of articles to be sorted per unit of time, which must be delivered, differs from target location to target location. These flow-rates also change in dependence on the articles to be sorted which must be processed. For example, when sorting letters for a specific delivery region or a specific receiving location, the number of letters accumulating over the time period of a year can fluctuate strongly in an unpredictable way. As a result of the permanent assignment of the physical target locations, the particularly high flow rates occur at differing target locations, meaning it is possible that the physical target location in the least favorable spot for a rapid processing must accommodate the highest flow rate. As a result of this permanent assignment, it can also happen that target locations with only a low flow rate or no flow rate at all are tied up, while other target locations are rapidly filled owing to a very high flow rate and consequently waiting periods must be taken into account for a frequent emptying of the filled target locations.